Is the BBC turning into Channel 4?**

I’ve been keeping informed with emails from London Feminist Network Yahoo group about this programme ‘Consent’ which is being aired this week or next week at 10pm. **Amendment: this is in fact the wrong programme name. The programmed being aired on Channel 4 at 10pm Sunday 21st Jan is called 'Consent' and then the programme I am referring to is called 'The Verdict', which is going to be on BBC2. However, these two programmes seem remarkably similar. I'm wondering if they are linked in some way?***

The problem with this programme, apart from the fact that viewers will be drawn in by the ‘cliffhanger’ idea of whether a rape victim is telling the truth or not, is that there has been no indication from the BBC that they have consulted the proper channels – so they have not sought information from rape crisis organisations or police units for rape victims and survivors and so on. AND the jury will be celebrities!!! Add to this mix Jeffrey Archer – who has been in prison himself – and you have a recipe for misinformation and the assertion that women are innate liars, especially when it comes to rape.

The entire focus of the programme will be on whether or not a woman who has been raped is telling the truth. Especially since (apparently) the rapist (the accused) will be a “famous” man. This shouldn’t invalidate a woman’s claim that a man raped her. Neither should whether a woman was drunk, wearing a short skirt or low cut top, or what her sexual history is.

When a man is raped, I doubt they bring up his sexual history or what he was wearing or how much he had been drinking. The double standard is still very much in evidence in the justice system. Rape conviction statistics are at an all time low – precisely because juries and judges bring bias with them into the courtroom (juries inevitably read about ‘false claims’ of rape in the media – which is much more pervasive than reporting about rapes that HAVE been convicted).

It is extremely difficult for a woman to admit that she has been raped, let alone go to a police station and give evidence. I imagine it would be very disempowering – having to be examined and then having to be cross-examined when you are the one that has been raped. Then having to stand up in court and see your rapist get away with it because it’s his word against yours. And women who have been through all that then have to deal with the reaction of society – if the rapist is found ‘innocent’ when he is not – then the woman will no doubt be considered a liar.

And the misperception of rapists as ‘monsters; men who are maniacs or psychos’ is rarely the case. Many men who rape are just as normal as any man you see walking past you in the street – granted, they think it’s acceptable to see women as sex objects and think it is acceptable to view women as existing for their gratification and don’t respect them – but they are generally men that have families and friends and have normal lives. The media usually just reports the cases that are viewed as particularly striking for some reason or other (ie. When it’s a case of drunken consent or one person word against another etc).

And I refuse to believe that men can’t stop once they’ve started – when a woman says no, she means no, and a man CAN stop. I seriously don’t believe that men are driven by their sex drive, and it’s impossible to stop. Why is man’s sexuality higher and more important and more uncontrollable than a woman’s? The view that men can’t control themselves paints them as uncontrollable, primeval beasts which cannot be trusted at all – and is this a flattering picture? I don’t think so – I think this discriminates against good men.

I won’t be watching 'The Verdict' and I will be complaining to the BBC at:

Phone: 08700 100 222
Textphone/Minicom: 08700 100 212
Write: BBC Complaints, PO Box 1922, Glasgow G2 3WT

There doesn’t seem to be an email address on the BBC website but there is an online complaints form at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/make_complaint_step1.shtml

**This is a reference to the fact that Channel 4 has become extremely mediocre over the past two to three years (Big Brother etc).

***If you want to complain about the Channel 4 programme which is on Sunday 21st January at 10pm, the contact details are as follows:

Advertising Standards Authority
Mid City Place
71 High Holborn
London
WC1V 6QT

Telephone: 020 7492 2222
Textphone/Minicom: 020 7242 8159
Fax: 020 7242 3696

I'm not sure whether the Channel 4 programme is the same as the BBC2 one, but people are welcome to watch and critically evaluate the programme or complain.

It isn't like a rainbow, this feeling inside...

Paris was good, but far too hot for me, I spent most of the time sweating and guzzling large bottles of water. It got up to 39 degrees at one point! I must explain that I don't really like the summer when it involves walking around and getting sweaty and being forced to move around when all I want to do is read a book and go to sleep! I kind of like autumn, winter and spring as the weather doesn't overheat my brain and give me crappy headaches that I have when I wake up in the morning, convinced that I must be in the farthest reaches of hell. Only kidding! ;)

However, sometimes I do think I'm in hell on earth. I'm not a religious person, understand. I feel that we should make the most of being alive here on earth, with our families and friends, in whatever way we can. But I sometimes feel heartsick that there is so much pain and suffering in the world. I read the blog of a woman in Iraq the other day.

It made me sad, and completely, utterly angry at all the cruel, so called "patriotic lets save the day" kind of stupid men like George-Bloody-Bush. And the US army. Just because they wear uniforms and have guns and are Americans doesn't mean they have ANY right to rape, torture and mutilate women, especially those women who are trusting them, the so called 'troops' to help their country, to restore order. I feel a profound, despairing sadness when I hear about women being raped in times of war. I feel powerless. I feel helpless. It makes me die inside. It makes me feel that I cannot do anything, when I want so much to stop these hate crimes against women, against human beings.

Why do people support war? Do they even care, that by giving people like George-Bloody-Misogynist-Bush the power to proclaim war somewhere, they are causing the rape, death and torture of millions? Don't people care about rape? Are all the myths perpetuated about rape brainwashing everybody into thinking that it's All Women's Fault? Don't people understand that our so called "raunch culture", the pornography industry, the media, prostitution and misogynist attitudes are causing unspeakable hateful attitudes towards women? I've felt that rage more that once. No, I haven't been raped, I haven't been beaten up. But I see it everywhere. I read blogs every day that make me feel that, although there are some amazing survivors and wonderfully angry women out there, I can't do anything, even if I can.

I HATE the attitudes I see on TV and in culture towards women. I hate them with a powerful passion. I hate the fact that people I know dismiss my feelings on the subject when I object loudly to something I see on TV, because it's "just a laugh" or something to that effect. And yet I am sometimes afraid that I will lose the love of these people. But then I tell myself that they should love me for who I am, what I care about and my passion for certain things. I feel as though I'm standing on a precipice, the edge of a cliff and perhaps I will fall or be pulled back. I don't want to be cautious. But I don't want to fall and perhaps not have anyone to break my fall. I've always been strong but I've always needed people to listen to me, to care about the things I care about. Maybe that is what being human is all about. For me, love and understanding matter to me more than anything.

I want my life to make a difference to people. To make a difference to women and deaf people. I want to make sure that people aren't feeling scared and alone and betrayed by our society, by the world. I've felt betrayed and alone and scared, I know what it feels like to feel like the world is messed up and cruel and does nobody any favours. Yes, there are good things in this world, I would be the first to admit that. But theres not enough good for me for redemption of all the pain in the world.

I apologise for the doomed atmosphere of this post, I guess I'm in a black mood at the moment. But I don't apologise for telling the truth of how I feel. I hope someone can relate to me somehow, or that my post makes someone feel they are not alone. I want to thank all the feminist bloggers who have written some amazing posts recently, it's really helped me.

Liz xxx